A Bengaluru-based software engineer was a victim of a false “digital arrest” scam, reported the news agency PTI, citing the police on Monday, December 23. Fraudsters posing as police officers alleged that the victim’s Aadhaar card was being used to open bank accounts for money laundering.
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The 39-year-old techie was frauded between November 25 and December 12, according to the agency report.
The victim alleged that on November 11, he received a call from a person who identified as an officer of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The alleged telecom officer claimed that his SIM, linked to his Aadhaar card, was used for illegal advertisements and harassment messages, reported the news agency.
The fraudster also claimed a case was registered at Mumbai’s Colaba Cyber Police Station. Following this, the victim received a call from a person impersonating a police officer. The fraud police officer alleged that these Aadhaar details were being used to open the bank accounts involved in a money laundering scheme, as per the news report.
The victim also received threats of keeping the incident confidential, and the fraudster threatened him that if he did not cooperate with the virtual investigation, he would be physically arrested, reported the news agency.
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The Scam Call
The Bengaluru-based victim also received another call asking him to download the Skype application, after which a fake police officer allegedly dressed in a Mumbai police uniform called the techie and claimed that a businessman had opened a bank account using his Aadhaar to conduct transactions worth ₹6 crore, reported the agency citing the FIR.
On November 25, another man in police uniform called him on Skype and claimed that his case was on trial in the top court and threatened to arrest his family if he did not comply, according to the complainant, cited by the news agency.
The fraudsters also cited a fake Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guideline asking the victim to transfer funds to certain accounts in the name of “verification purposes” or face legal consequences, as per the news report.
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The FIR highlighted that the victim transferred a total of ₹11.8 crore in multiple transactions to several bank accounts over a period of time, in fear of arrest. The victim realised its a fraud when they started to demand more money.
A case has been registered under the IT Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating and cheating by impersonation, police said, adding that further investigation is underway, reported the news agency.
